


True Criminal

by ChicTaekwoon



Category: BTOB, VIXX
Genre: I haven't decided yet, Leo OOC, M/M, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Vixx AU, criminal!Leo, implied chaken, might have smut at the end, neo - Freeform, plot twists and shit, police!N
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-13 17:01:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19255414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChicTaekwoon/pseuds/ChicTaekwoon
Summary: Hakyeon's always thought himself as a level-headed, serious investigator, who doesn't break the rules for anybody and gets the crime solved quickly and quietly. But when he encounters Taekwoon, all his principles fly out of the window. Soon, he finds himself caught up in a tangled web of revenge, acceptance, and forgiveness. Only Taekwoon knows how to unravel him.----Basically, Leo's a criminal and N is his investigating officer.





	1. Part One

Hakyeon glares at the report Eunkwang's waving in front of his face, squinting lightly when Eunkwang moves it closer.  
"What is this?" He sighs, rubbing his hands down his face, refusing to take the report and eyeing it crossly. "It's a report," Eunkwang answers, smacking Hakyeon lightly across the face with it with a grin. The only response he gets is a high pitched whine and a pout, hands reaching up to snag it from the youngers' grip. Eunkwang just chuckles in amusement, shaking his head. "I still don't get how you landed a job as the chief inspector when you're so childish. I mean, come on, hyung. You’re older than me."   
"I guess I'm just naturally good at my job, unlike you, brat.” Hakyeon smirks at Eunkwang, a smug look on his face. Eunkwang just shoots him an unimpressed look and Hakyeon has to fight not to laugh out loud. "Mature, hyung,” he deadpans. “Just look at it. He's arriving tomorrow, so I need you prepared," Eunkwang adds, waving goodbye and exiting Hakyeon's office before the older has a chance to say anything.   
Grumbling something about stupid dongsaeng’s, Hakyeon places the report on the table and opens it. The first page is always just basic info, which Hakyeon briefly skims through: the man's physical description, his name, date of birth, age, and stuff like that. Jung Taekwoon, age 23, height 181 cm.   
Turning the page, Hakyeon's eyes immediately widen. There is a picture there of the prettiest man he's ever seen. He has dyed blonde hair, platinum white almost; high cheekbones, and sharp, feline like eyes that seem to draw Hakyeon in, getting him lost in the man’s deep, dark charcoal eyes. And a devilish smirk playing on his lips.   
Swallowing heavily, Hakyeon turns the page again. This one contains details about the case: what the man did or what he was suspected for. Letting his guard down, Hakyeon, expecting a robbery or something mild along those lines, is not at all prepared for the word inked on the page.   
Suspect of: Murder.  
Hakyeon stares out the small window, drumming his fingers against the metal table, fighting the shivers racing down his spine; it was always so cold in the interrogating room, the stone walls and open window draining any sign of heat the bare lightbulb might provide. He has never been this nervous for an interrogation of a convict, no, a suspect any crime. He's not a convict yet, Hakyeon reminds himself. And yet, he's here with his heart racing like a teenagers'; his palms are all sweaty and there is a nervous tick in his leg that he’s never had before, making him jerk his leg up and down nearly violently.  
"Alright, in here and no funny business." Hakyeon's head jerks up at the sound of Wonshik's voice just outside the metal door. A chuckle makes him jolt again, heart beating faster than before. It's not Wonshik's, that much Hakyeon knows. The door clicks twice as Wonshik unlocks it and opens, and then a figure is being pushed into the room, alongside Wonshik. And Hakyeon… He can't breathe.  
The man looks even better in person, hair carelessly pushed back (the type of messy hair that takes 10 minutes to style in front of the mirror), eyes narrowed in amusement and a grin etched on his lips. Wonshik pushes him into the chair across from Hakyeon, planting a hand firmly on his shoulder. The man chuckles again and raises his eyebrows at Wonshik.  
"So, inspector, officer, whatever. I think this guy can handle me. Or do I seem so terrifying that you need to be here too?" The man, Taekwoon is his name, Hakyeon remembers, says, lifting both his handcuffed hands and rattling them.   
"I'm in chains, remember?" He reminds him innocently, this time laughing fully. Wonshik just grunts, nodding at Hakyeon and after casting one last glare at Taekwoon, who just raises his eyebrows, he leaves the room, slamming the door behind him and locking it, the sound resonating through the room and making Hakyeon shiver involuntarily.  
"Hello? Police person?" Taekwoon waves his hand, well, hands since he's handcuffed, in front of Hakyeon's face. Startled out of his thoughts, Hakyeon jerks back suddenly and almost falls out of his chair, managing to hit his head on the stone wall so close behind him.  
"Shit!" He groans, clutching it and screwing his eyes shut with the pain, wincing as he rubs it.   
"You were staring at me," Taekwoon accuses Hakyeon as soon as he opens his eyes. Eyes going wide and cheeks turning red, Hakyeon stammers out a weak “N-No?” that sounds weak even to his ears. Taekwoon smirks and sits back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest as best as he can with them being handcuffed. "Yes, you were. You spaced out, officer," Taekwoon says in such a dominating tone that leaves no room for arguments, that Hakyeon has to steel himself to not mutter out a ‘sorry’. Taking a deep breath, he sits up properly, ignoring the throbbing in his head. He narrows his eyes at Taekwoon. 'Focus, Hakyeon. You're N now, and you fear no one.'  
"It's Inspector N," Hakyeon replies icily, making Taekwoon pull a face, leaning forwards with amusement in his eyes. "Ooh. Look at you, turning all serious," Taekwoon teases, winking at him. Hakyeon doesn't reply, just stares blankly at Taekwoon before sighing and starting the interrogation.

"For the thousandth time, it's going to be much easier for you, no, scratch that. It's going to be way easier for me if you answer my questions," Hakyeon groans, rubbing his eyes hard.    
He's been here for four fucking hours, trying to interrogate Taekwoon and all he had managed to pull from him was that he is suspected for murdering a Im Hyunsik and... That's it. Hakyeon has never met a more stubborn person than this guy.  
No amount of fake promises or threats made Taekwoon speak out and Hakyeon is ready to slam his head against the table in frustration.  
"Sorry, Inspector N. I'm not in a very indulging mood." Taekwoon glares at him and shifts even further into the chair, away from Hakyeon and his questions. Hakyeon sighs and leans back himself, arms falling limply at his sides in defeat.  
"Are you willing to answer in exchange for something?" Hakyeon asks, ignoring the warning bells in his head. He's fucking desperate at this point. He’s never gotten nothing out of a suspect before, and Sanghyuk’s gonna have his ass on a platter if he doesn’t get answers, and fast.  
At this, Taekwoon's eyes catch a spark that wasn't there before, making them even more alluring, if that was even possible. "What are you suggesting, Inspector?" Taekwoon all but purrs, a cautious yet victorious look planted on his face, as if he already knew he won.   
Scowling, Hakyeon repeats himself, albeit more slowly. "There is no other way to put it." He can’t help but add, squirming under Taekwoon’s gaze in his seat in turn.   
Taekwoon suddenly leans forward, his nose just barely touching Hakyeon's and the officer had to force himself not to flinch backwards. "I'm asking you, what can you give me. What are the limits?" The suspect smirks and Hakyeon swallows, trying to look anywhere but Taekwoon's eyes. "T-the limits are freedom, sex and anything that includes getting out of here," Hakyeon squeaks out, face turning red at his voice.   
Taekwoon cocks his head to the right, as if considering his offer, making Hakyeon nearly growl. Finally, he pouts at him with fake anguish. "Sex? Really? Come on, you can't be that cruel," He says, voice filling with what seems like actual sadness and Hakyeon has to fight to stay calm, to not gasp for breath because all of it had been knocked from his lungs.   
"No s-sex." Hakyeon forces himself to say and Taekwoon pouts again, then straightens up and smirks at Hakyeon. "Okay. You got yourself a deal."   
The officer lets out a sigh of gratitude for any deity that may or may not exist for Taekwoon to finally agree to his demands.  
"Thank fuck. Okay, so, what-"   
The sound of the door opening makes him freeze mid-sentence as Wonshik slips into the room, baton hanging from his hip.  
"Four hours up. Get up." He glares at Taekwoon, who raised his hands above his head in a fake sign of compliance and lets himself get re-handcuffed behind his back. Wonshik casts a glance in Hakyeon's direction and only when the older nods, he leads Taekwoon out, not noticing the wink the suspect throws at Hakyeon the second Wonshik’s back is turned.  
Cheeks turning red again, Hakyeon is definitely ready to slam his face down, multiple times, into the metal table. 'What's going on with me?' He wonders crossly, standing up himself and exiting the room, slamming it shut behind him with a little bit more force than necessary. He heads down the hallway to his office, stopping only to greet a few co-workers along the way. He needs coffee. A lot of it. That's probably the problem with him, Hakyeon reasons, even though he’s never considered himself addicted. Sighing, he runs his hand through his hair. He's gonna have a lot to explain. 

"Four hours and you got nothing out of him?" Sanghyuk leans across the table to look Hakyeon in the eyes, hands clasped in front of him. Swallowing hard, Hakyeon nods slightly and Sanghyuk sighs, head dropping down for a while before he straightens up again, walking to his side of the desk and sitting down, spinning in the chair a few times. Hakyeon bites down on his bottom lip to hide his smile. Even though Sanghyuk is the man in charge here, not to mention the department manager and the one with the most degrees under his belt, he's got an exceptional talent in acting as a child, which can be reasoned, Hakyeon thinks, as he is the youngest one here.  
"I'm disappointed, Hakyeon. You're the best I have here and you have not managed to pull a single piece of information from him," Sanghyuk speaks up and Hakyeon wants to correct him by saying that's not true, he did get out of him the fact that he's a suspect for the murderer of Im Hyunsik, until he realizes that this particular piece of information is something they already know. He bows his head, silver hair falling into his eyes as he does so. "I'm sorry, Sanghyuk. I'll do better tomorrow," he apologizes. Daring to look up, Hakyeon sees Sanghyuk nodding slowly, like he expected Hakyeon to say that.   
"Do that. We don't have any other suspects to interrogate since the police only caught him." Frowning slightly, Hakyeon mulls over the sentence.   
"Only him? There were more?" He asks and Sanghyuk turns around, scooting closer to the desk, placing his elbows on it. "The body shows physical damage inflicted by at least 2 people. We assume that if Jung did it, he had an accomplice that managed to flee while he didn't. If you want the details, go ask Hongbin."   
Hakyeon nods, standing up and heading towards the door, going to do just that.    
"Thank you for the information," Hakyeon says over his shoulder and, not waiting for a response, opens the door and steps outside, closing it behind him and letting out a huge breath that he didn't know he was holding.  
"What's wrong, Hakyeon-ah?" A hand slings around his shoulders and brings him into a hug, pressing him tight against his, well sculpted might Hakyeon point out, chest.   
"Nothing," Hakyeon mumbles into his shirt, breathing in his scent. Jaehwan chuckles, resting his chin on Hakyeon's head, tugging him even closer even though he's shorter than him. "I didn't get anything from the suspect," Hakyeon confesses to the shirt, playing with the hem of the light blue fabric. Jaehwan laughs lightly, tugging the older until he can look into his eyes. "So, what? I've done that plenty of times." A small smile appears on Hakyeon's face.   
"No offense, Jyannie, but I'm not you." Jaehwan laughs openly this time, hugging the older once more before pushing him towards Hongbin's workplace down the hall.   
"Then make sure you don't act like me, hm, hyung?" He winks at Hakyeon before walking down to his own office, closing the door softly as not to disturb the other inspectors working their asses off in paperwork.   
Smiling fondly at the door, Hakyeon heads out to find his best friend. 

"Ah, Hakyeonie!" Hongbin calls out as soon as he spots Hakyeon's figure appearing in the doorway to his lab. Rolling his eyes, Hakyeon sticks his tongue out at Hongbin. "It's hyung, brat." Hongbin just waves a hand in his direction.   
"Yeah, who cares. Listen, I've been wondering when you're gonna get here. You here to see the body, right?" Hongbin asks, a creepy smile on his face. Suppressing a shiver at how maniacal Hongbin looked at that moment, Hakyeon nods and follows Hongbin to the other table, where the body lays, covered in a white sheet.   
"Sanghyuk said it was probably more than one person. Is that correct?" Hakyeon asks as Hongbin uncovers the body. Nodding, Hongbin points to one of the many cuts.   
"This one and-" he points to three others; "-these ones were made at the exact same time with four different types of weapons. So, either the murderer had four hands, or there were at minimum two people doing the killing." Hakyeon studies the cuts Hongbin pointed out, along with all the others.   
"What is the official cause of death?"   
Hongbin pauses for a while, turning to ruffle through some papers on a nearby desk before spinning back, holding a single document in his hand. He squints at it before declaring: "A blow to the temple by a heavy object." Hakyeon frowns, turning the information in his head.   
"He looks like he suffered a lot. Isn't a blow to the temple instant death?" He asks and Hongbin shakes his head. "Unless it is really strong, then yes. But you'd have to have massive strength to kill someone from one blow to the temple."   
"How many hits did he receive?"   
"In all?" Hongbin asks and Hakyeon rolls his eyes.   
"On the temple!"   
"Oh!" Sometimes, Hakyeon swears that his colleagues are not fit to work as criminal investigators.   
"Uh, one."   
"So, the guy suffered, he was basically tortured as I can see by the burns, cuts and god knows what else, and then dies by a hit to the temple? Sounds weird. My guess is, that several people were torturing this man before someone, maybe one of them, maybe someone else, decided to be merciful and end his misery by a quick and painless death." Hakyeon mutters to himself, walking in circles around the metal table before Hongbin stops him, eyes going wide with excitement. "Hyung! I think you're right!" Blinking a few times, both in confusion that Hongbin actually called him hyung and in getting roused from his thoughts, Hakyeon looks up to see Hongbin's giddy expression. Was he talking out loud?   
"R-really?" Hakyeon stammers out, not really knowing why he's so flustered. "Yes! There is a way we can prove this! God, you're a genius, hyung!" Hongbin almost shrieks, ushering Hakyeon out of the lab.   
"Go report that to Sanghyuk! He'll be so pleased!"   
Still slightly confused, Hakyeon nods and heads back down to Sanghyuk's office. Knocking lightly, he opens the door a crack and calls out, "Hyukkie?" There's no one in the office.   
Assuming that Sanghyuk just went out to get coffee or something, Hakyeon closes the door and goes back to his own office. He needs to prepare for tomorrow's interrogation of Taekwoon. 

"So, inspector." Taekwoon grins at Hakyeon from across the table. The suspect had just been brought to the room, winking at Hakyeon and nearly shoving a disgruntled Wonshik out the door himself, and Hakyeon is already ready to repeat his thoughts from yesterday about slamming his face into the desk. "You didn't get to finish yesterday," Taekwoon purrs out and Hakyeon’s mind immediately wanders into the gutter. Blushing slightly, Hakyeon leans back against his chair, studying the suspect and trying (read failing) to keep a cool outside demeanor.  
"What I wanted to say yesterday was, what do you want in exchange?" Hakyeon asks, taking out the pen he always has in his pocket, for some reason, and twirling it in his fingers. Taekwoon watches him play with it for a few seconds before he answers. "And sex is still off the table, right?" He asks, voice filled with false hope.   
"Way off. Under the table," Hakyeon agrees and Taekwoon's eyebrows fly up. "Wow, officer. Didn't know you were that kinky." Taekwoon grins at Hakyeon cheekily and the officer only glares back, cheeks tinting pink again.   
"I didn't mean it like that and you know it," Hakyeon mutters back. Lifting his hands up in apology, Taekwoon stares at the wall behind Hakyeon, clearly thinking about what he wants. After several minutes, Taekwoon takes a deep breath and looks Hakyeon in the eyes.   
"I got two conditions."   
Hakyeon nods, captivated by Taekwoon's dark gaze, his brown-almost black eyes.   
"One, you'll let me hang out with you. If you want, handcuffed or restrained, but I just want to be with you."  
Gasping slightly, Hakyeon opens his mouth to disagree but the raw, vulnerable, pleading look in Taekwoon's eyes changes his mind and he nods, smiling softly.   
Taekwoon returns his smile after a few seconds, gaze dropping down to his hands laid on the table. "And two, any questions you give me, I will answer truthfully. You have to believe me. Never ask me: 'Are you sure?' 'Are you lying?' You have to trust my words. I'll be completely honest to you but you have to believe me."   
Taekwoon's voice has dropped an octave and he's leaned back from Hakyeon, staring at the wall behind him, a blank expression on his face.   
Studying him quickly, Hakyeon takes a deep breath and, ignoring the warning bells in his head, he reaches across the table and takes Taekwoon's hand, the handcuffs clinking together noisily. Taekwoon looks up, hope shining in his eyes.   
"I promise to abide by your terms," Hakyeon swears, looking deeply into the suspects’ eyes. "Thank you." Taekwoon breathes out, face relaxing.   
"Can I ask a question?" Hakyeon asks and Taekwoon nods.  
"Did you kill him?"   
Biting his lip, Taekwoon withdraws his hand and sits back again, agitation clear in his expression.   
"Y-yes."


	2. Part Two

Some people would say that letting a suspect of a murder loose in your office is a bad idea since said murderer openly admitted he killed the person. Some people would say you can't become friends with a prisoner, especially one that's a suspect of a murderer. Some people say bullshit, Hakyeon decides and gazes at Taekwoon, who's sleeping on the couch in his office.   
There's no way this gentle person killed someone, even though the suspect said he should trust him, no matter what he says. Even if he did kill that man, if Hakyeon's theory is correct, he was doing the man a favor. He would still be locked up, but significantly less than if he would have openly killed someone. That reminds him, Hakyeon needs to check in with Hongbin to see if his theory is, in fact, correct. If it is, Taekwoon was just doing the right thing, helping the man by taking his life quickly and painlessly, as opposed to what had happened a few hours prior.   
Hakyeon's reluctant to leave Taekwoon here, alone, but the man's handcuffed to his desk, which is unmovable. Trust him, Hakyeon's tried to move it several times because he didn't like the positioning, but the thing weighs like 5 tons. It was impossible for him and some of his friends to move it a centimeter, so Taekwoon has a zero chance of doing it.   
Still, he’s is hesitant. What if someone comes into his office and sees Taekwoon sleeping, or worse, walking around the office as if he belonged. Maybe even looking through all his files. No, he can't leave him alone. Hakyeon doesn't trust Taekwoon that much, yet.   
Thankfully, all his problems are solved when Jaehwan knocks on his door softly.   
"Hakyeon? Can I come in?" He asks through the closed door, a habit that Hakyeon's praised for a very long time. "Um, sure. Just don't freak out," Hakyeon replies, sitting down behind his desk, palms a little clammy. "Okay." Jaehwan sounds confused but he opens the door nonetheless. He steps into the office and freezes.   
Jaehwan takes in the sight of Taekwoon sleeping on his couch, his right hand handcuffed to the leg of Hakyeon's table. His gaze drifts to Hakyeon's, who smiles sheepishly. "I can explain?"  
\-----  
"So now you believe him? Trust him?" Jaehwan's voice is full of disbelief but at least the younger didn't run screaming from the room, shouting, 'Police!'   
Which, now that Hakyeon thinks about it, makes no sense.   
"Not completely, Jyannie. That's why I'm glad you're here. I need to go after Hongbin and I don't want to leave him here alone." Jaehwan nods. "Good. At least you still kept some of your wisdom, hyung."  
"Hey!" Hakyeon complains, frowning slightly at the younger man.   
Jaehwan just chuckles and pats his head. "Just kidding. So I'm supposed to babysit a criminal? What if someone walks in?" Jaehwan's mirth is gone in under a second.  
Hakyeon shrugs. "Just lock the door. They'll think I've left for the day or gone to get food," Hakyeon suggests, standing up and heading towards the door. "When you hear my voice, open the door, 'kay?" Jaehwan nods and Hakyeon smiles once more before leaving the room, the sound of his shoes clicking fading away as he walks off.   
"Pet," Taekwoon scoffs and Jaehwan nearly jumps out of his skin, turning around to see the murderer glaring at him from his place on the couch. "Excuse me?" Jaehwan asks, sniffing indignantly.  
"Pet," Taekwoon repeats. "You're hung on his every word. It's quite embarrassing."   
Jaehwan narrows his eyes at Taekwoon, cheeks stained a light red. "Who are you to judge? Didn't you kill someone?" He snaps back and then realizes that that's not the best thing to say to someone who could potentially kill you since they already did it before.   
 "Yes, I did. Didn't the officer tell you everything? His theory of sorts?" Taekwoon asks, contempt clear in his voice. Jaehwan frowns. "How do you know about the theory?"   
Taekwoon shrugs, red hair falling into his eyes. He adjusts it before speaking.   
"He tends to speak without realizing it. Plus, he woke me up by pacing. Do you have any idea how heavy those shoes sound?" Taekwoon winces and Jaehwan finds himself rolling his eyes, agreeing before he catches himself.  
“Whatever,” he mutters, trying to act all disinterested, and walks over to Hakyeon’s desk, sitting down on the edge and crossing his arms over his chest, fixing a hard glare onto Taekwoon. The criminal raises an eyebrow. “Problem?” Taekwoon growls, narrowing his eyes back at Jaehwan. “Listen, buddy, I don’t give two craps about you, that must be pretty obvious at this point.”  
Taekwoon snorts in vague amusement, ready to interrupt him, but Jaehwan plows on. “But I do care about Hakyeon, so if you’re planning on anything that might sabotage him and his career, you better hope that I won’t find you. Hakyeon’s way too trusting for his own good,” Jaehwan snaps at him. Taekwoon blinks in shock. The raw emotion behind Jaehwan’s voice catches him off guard. Hesitantly, slowly, he speaks up. “How long have you known the guy?” This time, Jaehwan’s shocked by his soft, nearly inaudible voice. His tough cop façade wavers. Despite himself, he feels a smile work his way up onto his face as he delves into his memories.

_“Gotcha!” Hakyeon grins triumphantly as his snowball hits its’ target, the target being Jaehwan’s face. The younger pouts, and hurriedly wipes the snow away, already feeling tears prick at the corner of his eyes. Hakyeon’s own eyes widen, and he hurries to go comfort his friend. “No, Jyannie, don’t cry,” he reassures him, patting him awkwardly, and as best as the 5-year-old can manage. Jaehwan continues to sniffle. “Not fair,” he manages to whimper out. “I can never get you.”_   
_Hakyeon laughs lightly. “One day we’ll grow up, and you will, I promise,” he whispers and Jaehwan’s breath catches in his throat. “Really?” He lights up, rubbing his nose with his gloved hand. Hakyeon nods. “Pwomise?” Jaehwan reaches out with his pinkie. Hakyeon links their hands together and nods again._

Taekwoon lets out a scoff, and Jaehwan glares at him. “Yes, your majesty? Thoughts on my childhood?” The criminal rolls his eyes but doesn’t deign him a response. “Feel free to continue,” Taekwoon says eventually, after the silence becomes unbearable. Jaehwan huffs but complies.

_The look in Hakyeon’s eyes was worth every penny. It filled Jaehwan with such an indescribable feeling. “For me?” Hakyeon gasps, and preens, smooshing his cheeks with his hands and making the ugliest face one can imagine but not to Jaehwan. Jaehwan finds him beautiful. “Yeah,” Jaehwan breathes out, almost star-struck. Hakyeon notices and laughs lightly, reaching forward to gently close the youngers’ mouth. Jaehwan lets out a small giggle, before looking down at the mess he’s made, well, cake. ‘Happy 18th Birthday, Yeonnie!’ is written on it with shaky handwriting, because Jaehwan’s hands were trembling. The whole cake looks like a cyclone hit a small town and then bulldozed over it, and added blue coloring as an afterthought. Hakyeon finds it beautiful._

“You really baked him a cake?” Taekwoon’s incredulous voice interrupts him yet again. Jaehwan narrows his eyes at him. “Yes, I did. What’s wrong with that?” He hisses at the criminal. Taekwoon only chuckles lightly and waves him on. Not knowing why he’s listening to the other man, Jaehwan starts talking again.

_They look at each other with satisfaction before Jaehwan erupts into giggles. “What?” Hakyeon asks, eyebrows lifting up and eyes dancing. “Is there something on my face?”_   
_Jaehwan shakes his head and laughs heartily, hands around his stomach and bending over with how much he’s laughing. Soon, Hakyeon’s chuckling with him. “Why are we laughing?” He asks between laughs, which sets Jaehwan off again for another 5 minutes. “Jyannieeee~” Hakyeon whines, fixing the younger with a pout. Slowly, Jaehwan quiets down and gasps out: “There’s a ladybug in your hair!”_   
_The look on Hakyeon’s face makes him bowl over yet again, whilst Hakyeon only shakes his head at him, a fond look on his face. “You and the stupid things you notice. How about the fact that we graduated? And are officially cops?” He asks. Jaehwan shakes his head vigorously, all laughter gone now, but a permanent grin on his face. “Nope! The ladybug’s more interesting!” He declares. Hakyeon rolls his eyes in amusement. “Idiot,” he whispers and leans over to kiss the youngers’ cheek._

Silence. Jaehwan’s almost forgotten Taekwoon’s here, with how silent the other man is. He looks over at him and frowns. Taekwoon’s got his back turned to him, curled away from him on the couch. Just as Jaehwan’s about to inquire if he’s okay, Taekwoon speaks. “Do you love him?” He asks softly, and Jaehwan’s taken aback by the raw vulnerability behind his words. “Y-Yes,” the officer stutters quietly, and all he gets in response is Taekwoon curling in on himself more, shutting the world out.

~

Heaving out a sigh of relief, Hakyeon closes his office door behind him. Thank the gods Jaehwan happened to appear. He doesn’t know what he would have done with Taekwoon if his closest friend hadn’t walked in. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Hakyeon nearly bumps into Sanghyuk. His boss steadies him, a firm hand clasped at his shoulder and a grin on his face. “Heading off to see Hongbin?” Sanghyuk asks, eyes lighting up. Before Hakyeon has a chance to respond, Sanghyuk plows on. “He told me about your theory, and I believe it’s magnificent! Well, given the circumstances.” He grins at the older who can only nod. “We’re glad to have you, Hakyeon,” Sanghyuk finishes, patting his back before walking off to his office, even whistling a small tune. Frowning in confusion, Hakyeon chuckles softly. ‘Oddball,’ he thinks and continues on his way, this time passing Eunkwang. “Yo, Yeonnie, I’m having a party this weekend, for my birthday. You’re coming!” He yells out and walks past the older. Laughing, Hakyeon responds: “Do I have a choice?”  
“Nope!” Comes the amusement laced answer and a loud, booming laugh. Shaking his head at his coworkers, Hakyeon finally reaches Hongbin’s lab, the light yellow paneling giving way to cold white tiles.  
“Hongbin?” Hakyeon calls out when he enters the lab, pushing aside the door and immediately shivering, the temperature colder here by more than a few degrees. When he gets no response, he walks in, surveying the room. Metal tables cover the majority of the space here, alongside metal trays on wheels; there’s no body on any of them, however. Hakyeon notices soft blue light coming from an adjacent door, and heads towards it, softly calling out Hongbin’s name again. He peeks in and his mouth drops to the floor. Hongbin’s on the phone, smiling sweetly and nearly dancing around the room as he talks to whoever’s on the line. Hakyeon feels his heart burst at the cuteness and observes the younger prance around for a bit, chuckling softly under his breath at the star-struck-ness in his eyes. Suddenly, Hongbin turns towards him and screams. Startled, Hakyeon screams as well (girlier than Hongbin but he won’t admit it), and jumps back away from the door, losing sight of Hongbin and a hand on his chest. When he enters the doorway again, Hongbin’s off the phone and bent over, breathing deeply. “Hakyeon! You can’t do that to me!” Hongbin complains, glaring at the older. Hakyeon squints at the younger. “Me? I did nothing!” He sniffs in indignation, drawing himself up higher. “Besides, it was you who gave me a heart attack! I might have ended up on one of those tables myself!” He swoons dramatically, gasping out as if someone stuck him with a knife. “You would have killed me. Me!”  
Hongbin raises his eyebrows with amusement, watching his elder. “Are you quite finished?” He asks once Hakyeon quiets down. When Hakyeon opens his mouth to continue, Hongbin plows right by him, leaving him no choice but to follow the younger.  
Muttering mutinously under his breath about how commanding Hongbin is, Hakyeon sullenly follows after him, presumably into his office.

Hongbin’s office is sparsely decorated, indicating that he doesn’t spend nearly enough time in it unlike Hakyeon in his own. The only thing in the office beside the classic filing cabinets, table and plush chair is Hongbin’s own computer, which stands out quite starkly in the old office as the only piece of modern equipment. Hongbin plops himself into his desk chair and starts typing away, leaving Hakyeon to stand awkwardly beside his desk; ultimately, Hakyeon decides to plant his butt on the desk itself, the desk squeaking horribly underneath him as he does so.  
“Don’t break my desk,” Hongbin chides him without looking up. “Excuse you,” Hakyeon says indignantly, nose in the air in fake posh-ness. “Oh, hush.” Hongbin rolls his eyes and gives the older a dimpled smile once Hakyeon turns to glare at him.  
“Here we go,” Hongbin murmurs triumphantly and clicks his mouse one last time before turning his computer so that Hakyeon can see. Hakyeon squints at the screen for a few seconds before turning his gaze to Hongbin. “I don’t know what I’m looking at,” he admits and Hongbin huffs at him, turning the computer towards him a little bit.  
“Look,” he begins, pointing a finger at some values in the corner of the screen. “According to these calculations, Im Hyunsik was killed somewhere between 3 o’clock in the morning and 4 o’clock. During that time and, very likely before that as well, he received a minimum of around 30 to 40 injuries in various different ways, all done at approximately the same time.” Hongbin pauses, and Hakyeon nods. “Okay, so far I’m following,” he says. Hongbin points to another place on the screen, this time an image of what looked like a bleeding person. “This is a graphic simulation of Im Hyunsik. All those red dots are the places he was struck, the more vibrant they are, the more hits were placed in that same exact location. The injuries vary, from stab wounds, to burn wounds, to rope burn, suggesting they had him tied up or were choking him, to-” Hongbin cuts himself off, shaking his head. “Well, let’s just say the guy suffered. Until at around 3.50 in the morning, where he received a heavy blow to the temple, which killed him instantly, and before you start playing the devil’s advocate, it’s done. I did the math, the research, whatever you wanna call it. It checks out.”  
Hakyeon rubs his head in light confusion. “Hongbin, no offense, but this doesn’t really help, I knew most of this already.”  
Hongbin sighs in annoyance. “If you’d let me finish, Hakyeon,” he injects as much venom into his name as he can. Hakyeon sticks his tongue out at him. “You’d see why I’m telling you this. I ran DNA testing on each of those injuries, trying to see if the killers left anything behind that could help me identify them. The only place that held any piece of DNA apart from Im’s, is his temple. Hakyeon,” Hongbin drops his voice down to a near whisper, making Hakyeon shiver unconsciously. “Jung’s fingerprint was on Im’s temple. He did kill him.”  
Hakyeon felt the breath get knocked out of his chest. Sure, he suspected this, and Taekwoon did tell him, but to hear it come from Hongbin, well, it was something else. All Hakyeon can do is nod dumbly, before he freezes.  
“Hakyeon?” Hongbin asks tentatively, worried a bit. Hakyeon bolts up and runs out of Hongbin’s office, through his lab and down the main hallway, passing many a colleague who gives him strange glances as he runs past. He reaches his door and pounds on it, gasping out an “It’s me!” so that Jaehwan opens it, even though Hakyeon has keys to unlock the door himself. Once he does, he pushes past the bewildered younger and immediately zeroes in on Taekwoon, who’s curled up on the couch, apparently asleep. Hakyeon reaches him and roughly shakes him awake. Feline eyes blink open and gaze right at him, small mouth turned into a pout at being awakened so rudely. “What’s the matter, officer?” Taekwoon asks, voice slightly rough with sleep.  
“Why did you kill Im Hyunsik?” Hakyeon breathes out, eyes locked onto Taekwoon’s.  
The convict’s no longer asleep, looking almost as awake as Hakyeon himself. His eyes bore into Hakyeon’s and the cop has to strain to hear him once Taekwoon speaks: “To help him.”  
Hakyeon collapses backward, onto the floor.  
“Well, damn.”


End file.
